[93] The chief baker, for his part, approved the interpretation, and, thinking that he himself had had a lucky dream, though in reality it was very much the reverse, and misled by the comforting hopes of the other, proceeded as follows: “I too had a dream. I thought I was carrying three baskets—full of bakemeats—on my head, the uppermost full of all the different kinds which are regularly provided for the use of the king, for the delicacies produced by the caterers for the king’s table are varied and elaborate. Then birds flew down and snatched them from my head, and gobbled them insatiably until all was consumed and nothing of the provisions was left.” Joseph replied:
[94] “I could have wished that this vision had never been seen by you, or, if seen, had remained unmentioned, or, if its story were told, that at least it should have been told far away from my ears to prevent my hearing it. For no one shrinks more than I from being a messenger of ill-tidings. I sympathize with those in misfortune, and kindly affection makes me feel as much pain as the actual sufferers.
[95] But the interpreters of dreams must needs tell the truth, since they are prophets expounding divine oracles, and I will therefore speak without reserve; for, while veracity is best in all matters, in dealing with God’s messages, anything else is profanity.
[96] The three baskets are symbols of three days. When these have passed, the king will order you to be impaled and beheaded, and the birds will feast upon your flesh until you are entirely devoured.”
[97] The baker, as might be expected, was confounded and upset, having the appointed day before his eyes and mentally anticipating its pangs. But, when the three days had passed, came the king’s birthday, when all the inhabitants of the country held festive gatherings, and particularly those of the palace.
[98] So, while the dignitaries were banqueting, and the servants were regaling themselves as at a public feast, the king remembered the eunuchs in the prison and bade them be brought to him. And, when he saw them, he ratified what had been forecast in the interpretation of the dreams, by ordering one to be beheaded and impaled and the other to be restored to his former office.